Days after the assassination of Atiq Ahmed, a video of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi hailing the gangster-politician during a public rally has gone viral on social media.
The video, uploaded on Twitter by popular user ‘Befitting Facts’ show the AIMIM leader shouting ‘Atiq Ahmed Zindabad’ before a swarming crowd of his supporters.
“Naara e Takbeer…Allah hu Akbar… Atiq Ahmed Zindabad…Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen Zindabad,” he was heard as saying. The video has sparked angry reactions on social media, with netizens slamming Owaisi for glorifying a deceased criminal.
.@asadowaisi shouting Atique Ahmed zindabad. pic.twitter.com/7zm1Gy5Y3B
— Facts (@BefittingFacts) April 25, 2023
The contentious video was shot on September 22, 2021, during a public meeting of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in Prayagraj City of Uttar Pradesh.
During his provocative speech, he tried to downplay the criminal record of Atiq Ahmed and attempted to pass him off as a ‘victim’ of BJP’s high-handedness. At about 22 minutes into the programme, he was seen encouraging his supporters to raise Islamic chants of ‘Naara e Takbeer’ and ‘Allah hu Akbar.’
Amidst the religious sloganeering, he pushed in the name of Atiq Ahmed so as to ensure that his followers respond with a ‘Zindabad’ after the gangster’s time.
It must be mentioned that on September 7, 2021, Atiq Ahmed joined AIMIM in absentia and his wife Shaista Parveen was inducted into the party in the presence of Asaduddin Owaisi.
The AIMIM chief had defended the decision by alleging that the BJP too had several lawmakers (37% MLAs in UP Assembly and 117 MPs in the Parliament) with serious criminal charges pending against them.
In January 2022, Owaisi gave a ticket to Atiq Ahmed’s wife to contest the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha elections from the Allahabad West constituency. She lost. On April 15 this year, the gangster-politician and his brother Ashraf were shot dead from point-blank range in Prayagraj.
Atiq’s son Asad Ahmed and aide Ghulam were also neutralised in an encounter operation by the Uttar Pradesh Police on April 13, 2023. Shaista Parveen is currently on the run from law enforcement authorities. She is wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case.
